At this point we have one student that has been diagnost with anxiety disorder. In the beginning we did not know why she reacted in a particular way.

True. One way studnets are trying to deal with their diagnosed or un-diagnosed anxiety is through vaping. Earlier I spoke about my experiences with a class of students with a large number of anxious students. Three of them vaped. They talked about it a lot in class. I know vaping has been a growing problem in our school district and at our school. The principal is trying to crack down on vaping. If students are trying to self-medicate in order to cope with their anxiety and stress from school today,what will they turn to next when vaping is not enough any more?

My sister's son has been diagnosed with autism. He is high on the spectrum, a very bright boy, but he is also an introvert and has had a lot of difficulty making friends.

I see this all the time. It makes me wonder whuy the communication piece is part of the Core Competencies when half the time I am being approached by my students who ask for permission to present to me by themselves during Flex or after school in my office. When will they ever learn this skill and how am I really preparing students to survive in the real world once they leave the comfort of high school?

Again, I relate to this. Last year, I had one grade 9 class that was a real gong show. I had 9 students with anxiety related issues. Not all were diagnosed and not all of them had a resource block. None of them had an SEA. I felt really terrible for the handful of high achieving students because those 8 or 9 students ruined it for everyone else's learning. They all had trouble trying to focus. They giggled and laughed a lot and spoke out. They were a very challenging class of students to deal with but thankfully this year all of my classes are balanced. I only have one student who blurts things out loud all the time and I have one SEA this year.

In order to help students focus, I break my lessons into small chunks of time. I also use simulations, role-plays and experiential based learning to engage students. What I found, though, with students who cannot focus, it did not seem to make much difference. I still had students who received "I"s on their report card and students still ended up failing that course last year.

I've experienced this with one student, so I believe there is some truth to this epidemic. I do wonder though, if there are more anxious students in non-believing families? The Bible declares God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love and sound mind "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7).

Absolutely true. I see this a lot with particular students. The strange thing I find is that the parents come across as weak. When I reflect on my own childhood, I really hated math and dreaded math tests. There was no way my mom would ever let me stay home from school. I had to be throwing up and only then could I get a free day at home. My parents instilled in me the mentality that you never quit or give up. I wonder if the new generation of parents have lost those core values? Or worse, they fail to pass them on to their children. Could this be one of the reasons for an increase in anxiety?

This I find to be so accurate. I am dealing with my fair share of students who have varying levels of anxiety in my mainstream classes and a number of them are receiving an "I" on their up-coming report card simply because they fail to do any work and in some cases they simply don't show up to class. I have a handful of students that have not done any work in Term Two.The counselors, VP's and in one case the ISP Coordinator are well aware of their cases. It seems though that everything takes time to process. One counselor was explaining to me that one girls parents are not willing to listen to the advice that the school recommends. The counselling team and VP's are great about informing parents other options for their children. Some take the advice to heart while many it seems do not comply or are not ready to acknowledge that the problem is as severe as it really is.

I am flabbergasted at how prevalent anxiety is today amongst children and adolescents. Damour (2019) purports "Today's teens now, for the first time, feel more stressed than their parents" (p. O6). Damour, L. (2019, February 23). It's the girls who suffer why young women are more anxious than ever. Globe And Mail, pp. O6-07.

This makes me wonder what our parents believe we have in place as support for students who struggle with anxiety? I would like to talk about it more with my admin team.

This also doesn't even consider the "hidden students" who may not have an IEP for other reasons. How can we find and support them as well as those that are already on IEPs?

Is reading aloud something that is still forced upon students? I shudder at the thought of this! Such a simple thing can create so much damage in a student who feels anxiety over this. On the flip side, I love giving students the choice to read out loud if they wish. I have had students who were not great readers that wanted to read out loud and I was so grateful at the patience and encouragement given by their classmates. As I have watched the videos on inclusivity this week and I think about the statement one person made (I apologize for not remembering who it was, but it was in the Inclusive Education video) that "Inclusive education is about opportunity" (Inclusive Education: From Political Correctness Towards Social Justice, 2017). Allowing students to read out loud gives opportunity. Opportunity for them to grow and develop and for other students to show that they appreciate and value that student, regardless of his or her ability. I have been so encouraged by the community of my students and their appreciation and acceptance of one another.

How often do we actually know that students are seeking outpatient treatment? I can think of one student that I know in my current classes whose mom felt that it was really important for us to be a team and she let us know every time that her daughter had gone to Children's Hospital, how the treatment was going, and if there was advice for us a her teachers. I appreciated this SO much as it helped me to know how to relate to and connect with this student. We were able to create a firm foundation when she was going through the worst of it in grade 8 and now that she is in grade 11 we still have a wonderful connection and she knows that she can trust me and I also know her symptoms and triggers. It has been wonderful to go on that journey with her. She is not a student with any other diagnosed disabilities and has no IEP or learning plan put in place. Without her mom letting us know about this treatment, we never would have known it was happening because she hid it quite well. I wonder what we can do as schools to let parents know that this is not a shameful thing or something that they are on their own with and that we want to be a team with them?

As a teacher in a small independent school, we do not have what I consider to be a school-based mental health provider that I know of...something I am beginning to feel pretty strongly needs to change. What kind of school-based mental health do you have? Do you have school counsellors that are trained in mental health care and strategies?

We took a course called Mental Health First Aid through the Mental Health Commission of Canada- our School Psychologist is a registered trainer - if you would like to do the same check out https://www.mhfa.ca/en/form/looking-mental-health-first-aid-training?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-7vKsIjb4AIV6B-tBh221gKrEAAYASAAEgKwN_D_BwE

In my experience, we address this issue by creating "Care Teams" with the students, parents (care-givers), teachers, counsellors, school psychologist and Principal. Frequent check ins and areas within the school environment are created to accommodate a variety of emotional needs. We did not always have this line of communication and supports in place and the difference is astonishing.

I have to wonder if a scale will be developed and or is already being developed similar to the ones used for assessing LD's and or ADHD etc... during the IEP process- I noticed we spend a great deal of time during the psych ed assessments filling in forms focussing on daily behaviours so why not also target the anxiety piece where often times it is anxiety misdiagnosed and symptoms can be related to trauma and with proper support can be treated.

This is definitely problematic when teachers are not communicating concerns to the mental health professional affiliated with the school- when they collaborate with others and advocate for proper diagnosis great results are had. Otherwise, student continue to fall through the cracks.

Recognizing that we have many students who lack the needed skills to interact effectively with peers, we have started social thinking groups in our school. Targeted students (some, not all have IEP’s) spend fifty minutes each week learning and practicing a new, targeted social skill. This appears to be helping our students learn new skills and the opportunity to practice them.

The fact that students with IEP’s have higher anxiety scores seems logical because many diagnoses are comorbid with anxiety. For example, 33% of students with ADHD have concurrent anxiety (Masi, 2015). Knowing this means we must be aware that students may be dealing with more than one diagnosis. Providing accommodations for symptoms of anxiety may not be enough, teaching and accommodations for skill deficits may also be needed.

Because "school staff are the primary providers of mental health services for children" there is a huge need for more training in teacher education to develop effective strategies for all types of mental health. I also wonder if the reason there is more training for behavioural support is behavioural issues affect the whole class, while internalized disorders can be missed/ignored/forgotten by the staff and thus there is less drive to fix these mental health issues.

My wife's school has a "want a friend to play with bench" where students can sit at recess/lunch when they want someone to play with but don't feel comfortable asking. The first rule of sitting on the bench is that the student must play with whoever asks them and play whatever is suggested (it is observed by staff members to ensure positive interactions).

Roleplaying difficult situations and providing students with tangible strategies to overcome their anxiety is far more affective than putting them in the hall when they feel worried. Avoidance/escape does not help students overcome the anxious thoughts and can in fact further them as they feel unwanted, abnormal, crazy, etc. especially in men/boys.

Anxiety Canada. (2016, December 08). Men and Anxiety. Retrieved from https://www.anxietycanada.com/resources/article/men-and-anxiety

This would benefit from a school perspective on the actual support given. Do mothers report about counselling/safe spaces accurately or is it a hope that this support is available? It appears that if the students feel they are provided extended time on tests and permission to leave, they might not actually be receiving as much support as the mothers believe.

Note "Between class or in the hallways" is only for middle school. I wonder if this might have something to do with a lack of adult presence or supervision in these times. Where as in elementary school when students are in the hallways there is a teacher present

This is interesting, much of the situational anxiety relates to performance. Being dropped off seems like anxiety caused by unknown expectations. The fear of asking teachers questions is a difficult challenge to overcome. I had 2 students with anxiety about asking me questions and it was hard to work through.

It seems like schools would need to be included to properly evaluate hypothesis 2a, as students might not realize what services are outlined in their IEP, and might think they are receiving more or less than they actually are.

In BC education it looks like there is little funding for mental health. Mental illness is considered an "R" with no supplemental funding.

BCTF. (2017). PRIORITIES FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION. Retrieved from https://bctf.ca/publications/BriefSection.aspx?id=46986

Because "there is clear evidence that school staff are primary providers of mental health services for children" (Green et al., 2017), I wonder how we can communicate more effectively to parents about what their child might be experiencing at school. I also wonder if perhaps this is from a lack of understanding or education for parents. How can we provide more information to parents about their kids so that they can provide better supports at home?

As an educator, I'm aware that anxiety is prevalent, however I don't always think about how much it affects or interferes with a student's ability to function and succeed academically. This article shows pretty clearly that anxiety is affecting students consistently and that what we consider 'work habits', or organization, may just be a symptom of anxiety.

It's no surprise that "anxious children have poorer social skills" however, I think it's up to us as a community (not just educators, but peers, parents, strangers etc), to create an atmosphere where anxious kids can feel more comfortable. If not, the cycle that Green speaks to here will continue to spiral. Because of their lack of social skills and general rejection from society, these children will have "less opportunities to engage in a practice interpersonal interactions" thus giving them less practice at building social skills.

Anxiety among teenage girls is extremely evident. As an educator, I see this everyday. I cannot help but think that this is closely related to the social media phenomenon that has taken over this generation's teenage culture. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America released an article regarding technology use and anxiety. Sarah Fader writes "It seems that the more technology we acquire, the more stressed out we become." (Fader, 2018) Between the constant need to be connected and trying to compare to the "perfection" that they find online, it's no wonder that girls are struggling with mental health more than ever. AC

Interesting to note the parent perception of cognitive issues versus the student perception of social issues. If a parent is seeing marks/grades go down or incomplete assignments on reporting, then this might be perceived as an inability to do the work. I read this as the parent looking at the symptom of the anxiety, and the student reporting on the root. LM

I find it striking how this corresponds to several core competencies of the modernized curriculum. With the emphasis on working within groups, team dynamics, inquiry-led learning, are we putting students with anxieties at a disadvantage? Or perhaps we need to rethink our scaffolding for teaching students how to work in groups so those who are anxious are able to develop their competencies to a proficient stage? LM

On the Anxiety Canada website, there were a few links and phrases that stated that anxiety was "harmless", I mentioned in some of my annotations that I found this to be untrue based on research found in this article. It is also important to note that academic and social functioning (and success) are incredibly important in the adolescent and developing years.

This is a daunting reminder that teachers (most definitely including myself) need to be educated and practiced on how to teach and deal with a variety of students with anxiety disorders. Personally, I believe that there are links to technology and social media that are spiking anxiety rates of the next generation, however, in addition to finding solutions on a grand scale, we also need to know how to deal with students on an individual basis.

It worries me to think about how often this might be true within our school system. Even with the new curriculum, there are many teachers and educators using old and outdated practices that are not evidence based. This applies both in regular teaching scenarios, but also when dealing with kids with anxiety. Because it seems like such a new phenomenon, teachers are struggling to stay current on modern research and practices on how to deal with these struggling students.

Test Annotation. Hope this is working!

I just emailed this information to our elementary vice principal and lead principal. I am hoping we can get a workshop in our school or attend one in another district. I wish they had one for high school! I bet I could learn things at this one though. Will anyone attend one of these?

This is a key point as I find that many educators might jump to conclusions when dealing with a particularly shy student and mistake that for a social anxiety. I also wonder if we can rely on audio/video technology to assist with the sefl-consciousness and avoidance. These can be used at home or in a safe space and then shown to the teacher or class.

I appreciated reading this article, as it took me back to my high school experience. Of course in 1996, this was not something that was really discussed, nor were there any supports in place, but I do believe I had GAD from a very young age. I remember my parents going out on dates and me laying in bed unable to sleep, believing that they had been in a car crash and I wouldn't see them again. I recall crying with relief when they would arrive home. I worried so much that my dad picked a special Bible verse for me that we would recite together before they left to go anywhere.

In grade 11 my worry became so all consuming that although I was that so-called dream student, it all came crashing down. I was on the volleyball team, in the drama production, on student council, trying to achieve a perfect 4.0, trying to be a model student, trying to have a relationship with God, trying to do it all. All day long I would worry about how the next moment was going to go, if I was doing things right, if I was letting everyone else down...but on the outside I seemed perfect.

One day I came home, started crying and could not stop. I am so grateful for my parents. There was no cognitive behaviour therapy in place as this article discusses and we didn't have anything close to a psychologist in our tiny South Dakota town of 500, but my parents did what they could. They put into place our own CBD. Every night before bed my parents had me write out a list of my worries and addressed each one with practical steps and prayer together. They would help me create a plan for the next day. They helped me think about all I was doing and see if I could step down from something. They helped me identify my trigger moments and gave me scripture to recite when those worries came up. My dad wrote me a sticky note that he stuck to my door EVERY SINGLE MORNING before he left for work with an encouraging note for the day and a prayer. He did this every single day until I graduated and left home for college. I still have every single one of those notes.

I think that realizing that a website like this with these strategies and protocols would have been amazing for my parents in that time, and for parents now. As a mom of a child who I already see is much like myself, I know that I will be coming back here to find help!

True, anxiety seems to be a part of life and a part of the curse. The only thing that will set people free from anxiety is a personal relationship with God.

I taught a resource block last year and had this one grade 8 boy who suffered terribly. He struggled to attend school for the first four months of school, and then by January he went on hospital home bound. Now that i have experienced how severe anxiety is I have more empathy.

I commented on this article

This app looks really amazing! I think I will install it and see how it works and if it is easy to use. As a teacher of high school students who are glued to their phones, I like the idea of utilizing their phones as an opportunity to help them.

Does anyone have any kind of anxiety training that is offered in their school settings? I wonder if that would be possible in my school. I'm thinking about how we could use a staff professional development day to do some general education in what it even looks like for our students. Lana, do you think this would actually be possible in our school?

I have noticed this is also possible with a parent and child - where the child needs support keeping the high expectation /anxiety of self at a manageable level but the parent needs to do the same.

Does anyone else in our group teach the new Career Life Curriculum in the province of BC? I feel like these videos could be quite useful for my students in my CLE 10 and 11 classes. I'm looking forward to previewing them, sharing some of them with my students and taking them through some of these resources.

Hi all! Just checking in here. I will add some annotations in some other areas. I'm excited to check out this site!

Do we just post to public or do we add a LDRS 626 tag?

Test Annotation #2! Can you see this?

We do have at home a anxious child. She has been that way for a long time. She often thinks that we as parents or her brohter will die. She does not like when I travel because she thinks the worse. It is helpful to think about ways we can help her overcome her anxiety.

I have to say that until I read Tim Elmore's book, Marching off the Map, I did not really realize that the new generation suffors greatly from anxiety.

This reminds me of the Zones of Regulation Program that we use at my school and the Tools for Taming and Trapping Worry Dragons.

Sadly, this has been a pattern in my own family- I have lost six uncles to alcohol/drug abuse which was a coping mechanism to deal with their mental illnesses and anxiety. One uncle was diagnosed with bi-polar schizophrenia and I am certain there are many undiagnosed male members of my family.

This dovetails what Green says in his 2017 article on School Functioning and Use of School-Based Accomodations by Treatment-Seeking Anxious Children. Green mentions how "anxious children have the most difficulty concentrating on schoolwork" (Green et al., 2017, p.221). Greif Green, J., Comer, J., Nadeau, A., Reid, G., & Pincus, D. (2017). School functioning and use of school-based accommodations by treatment-seeking anxious children. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 25(4), 220-232. doi:10.1177/1063426616664328

Unfortunately, today there is a rise in vaping throughout the high schools which could be a way in which teens with anxiety are trying to cope.

I am reminded of what had befallen King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:31-34. Craziness was a punishment from God for being proud and believing he was equal to God.

In a recent newspaper article in the Globe and Mail It's the Girls Who Suffer, Damour (2019) states "it's girls who suffer more'. She goes on to point out that "girls are more likely than boys to labour under feelings of psychological stress and tension" (Damour, 2019).

I experienced this in very similar ways when I dealt with anxiety and when I dealt with altitude sickness. The inability to complete one thought because my mind was overwhelmed by many minor thoughts was almost identical in both anxiety attacks and extreme altitude sickness. It would be interesting to see if there is any research that explains this similarity.

When I was much younger I experienced anxiety that caused my worries to consume my thoughts to the point where I could not function. Smoking was the only thing that would stop my out of control thinking. I think that part of it was due to the nicotine, but another affect was the controlled breathing required when smoking. There is evidence for controlled breathing as a treatment for controlling anxiety outbreaks.

Valenza, M. C., Valenza-Peña, G., Torres-Sánchez, I., González-Jiménez, E., Conde-Valero, A., & Valenza-Demet, G. (2014). Effectiveness of Controlled Breathing Techniques on Anxiety and Depression in Hospitalized Patients With COPD: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Respiratory Care, 59(2), 209. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=94080525&site=eds-live

This is interesting! One of the first recommendations doctors have for people with depression or anxiety is that they get more exercise as it releases positive mood hormones.

Goodwin , R . D. ( 2003 ). Association between physical activity and mental disorders among adults in the United States . Preventive Medicine , 36 , 698 – 703 .

Is this because men are less likely to report or is it because more women are afflicted by anxiety?

I have had a student with a severe peanut allergy and had developed anxiety around the possibility of someone nearby causing a reaction. Some of his peers and younger students thought it was funny to tease him saying they had peanuts in their pockets and or on their person. I felt so awful for him and discovered that there had not been a formal session educating others about allergies so we spent a great deal of time discussing them and the way he felt when people were teasing him.

This resource gives simple, yet effective strategies that could be used for the whole class. For example, teaching and implementing class wide deep breathing provides a practical strategy for all students to manage anxiety. It also links further resources for each strategy.

I scanned this resource and find it practical. I can see using it with a small group of student in a resource room setting. I can also see using it in a 1:1 setting or facilitating a parent group with it so that they can help their children.

This is very helpful, I had never heard of this before. I had a student that may have suffered through this undiagnosed when they were treated for Strep. Their behaviour returned to normal after 3 weeks of antibiotics. The parents thought it was a reaction to the medicine.

I had one student in my Career Life class this year who suffered from such crippling anxiety that her mother emailed me saying she does not care about the grades, she just wants her daughter to go to school. Her daughter had such a severe case that she missed a week of school. By January she ended up dropping out of school altogether and moving to on-line education.

I think today's generation of students have more options at their disposal. There seem to be more supports available if you suffer from such intense anxiety.

A number of my studnets have anxiety when it comes to presenting in front of their peers. I get numerous emails from parents interceding for their children. One student believes more teachers should learn about anxiety “Some teachers don’t want to help students with disabilities; they won’t let us go to resource when we want to or they’ll force you to speak in front of people or take a test in a noisy room when you’d rather be in a quiet space with a longer amount of time” S. Steen (personal communication, February 14, 2019).

This is interesting, I was wondering if being introverted was more common in Social Phobia, but it is a quite different feeling towards people and interactions. Introverts enjoy their own company and need alone time, where as social phobia causes people to obsess over pleasing others.

This is a great resource, I think I had a student last year that struggled with the "worrying about cheating/plagiarism" because when we did learning games he could answer all questions correctly, but on the test he often left questions blank or wrote obvious mistakes. I will have to make a binder of all of these great resources to refer back to.

I have dealt with this over the years and one thing that has helped me was to maintain as many of the pre-trauma routines so the student knows I am consistent. It is a fine line I have trouble with because I want to acknowledge the symptom or behaviour with empathy but also want to maintain a certain level of normalcy which is where being in close contact with home and counselling supports in the school is best.

I have used the 'old school' way of coping cards and found great success with a fourteen year old struggling with anxiety. It was as simple as a set of business card size cards with helping coping statements written on them that he could pull out in challenging situations. I think that this has applications for professionals as well in conflict situations or challenging negotiations for example. If anyone else has used these or something like them I'd be interested in learning how and the response.

I do not think there are enough advocates to inform students, parents, and educators the long-term effects of GAD. The anxiety behaviours work for the student at the time (i.e. overly studious, perfectionist, etc.) because they get good grades and they might get attention for that. But, personally speaking, the effects that hit in the forties after living a lifetime of this takes its toll. I love that we are learning about advocating for students struggling from anxiety instead of poo-pooing it for so long. LM

"control and escape" It wasn't until my mid-thirties before I found a strategy to mitigate the need to control and escape. I realized I could honestly say, "When I will return to my home later and [insert anxiety-inducing scenario] will be over." Before this strategy, the anxiety was crippling. However, giving myself perspective that there was life AFTER the situation was empowering. LM

I think this is an important point. As someone who struggles with GAD, there is a sense that we need to rid ourselves (or even scold ourselves!) out of anxiety episodes, that elimination of the anxiety is the desired emotional destination. However, naming it for what it is gives a sense of control back, and knowing that strategies can be used can reduce the paralyzing fear thereby slowing the cycle. Even for me, it is empowering to see these things in written form, validating my experience. Thank you for directing us to this site, Adrienne! LM

I am curious to see the data and validity of this statement. In my experience, many teenagers tell their parents nothing or very little about their feelings. However, if this statement is true, it is crucial that parents get relevant information about how to help their children. I also wonder how we address the fact that "there is clear evidence that school staff are primary providers of mental health services for children (Burns et al., 1995; Leaf et al., 1996; Merikangas et al., 2011)" (Green et al., 2017) If parents are the ones students rely on the most, but school staff are the number number one supports, than we need to find a way to shift the responsibilities over to the parents.

I am curious to know if this is something that could be incorporated into the curriculum. A sample "I" statement from the Critical Thinking page on the curriculum specifies "I can reflect on and evaluate my thinking, products, and actions." (Ministry of Education, 2018) I believe that this touches on a related idea, but I wonder if learning to deal with anxiety should be a life skill that we are teaching in schools, and at what age?

As an educator, I have seen many IEP's which do exactly this. The IEP asks teachers to give students alternative assignments which allow them to do projects, assignments and presentations in a less "scary" way. I understand that it is challenging to figure out what strategies are best for each individual student, however, I wonder how many students we could be pushing a little bit more and teaching them to overcome difficult situations more often.

I would argue that anxiety isn't actually harmless. Green et al. states that "anxiety can cause interference that is cognitive (e.g., concentration problems, worry), behavioral (e.g., restlessness, low participation), and physiological (e.g., nausea, rapid heart rate; Huberty, 2008)" (Green et al. 2017). Anxiety also "has the potential to negatively affect academic success." (Green et al. 2017) As much as it might be reassuring to a child to tell them that anxiety is harmless, I think that it is far from the truth.

I have seen this time and again at the high school(s) that I work at. There are students who seem to have no issues or learning disabilities, but can then be paralyzed by a simple social situation or doing something in front of peers. I struggle as an educator when to push a student who just needs a little more experience and practice and when to allow a student alternatives when the activity would seem to make the anxiety worsen. Green et al. reported that "School-based situations in which children reported the greatest anxiety were speaking in front of the class and taking tests." (Green et al., 2017)

This is something that I was not aware of. Whenever I hear the term PTSD, I usually think about Military Veterans or a more violent scenario. Though it is logical, I never thought that a car accident (which are extremely common) could cause PTSD and that it is common in children.

Unfortunately, this is getting increasingly more difficult to measure as the rate of anxiety increases with each generation of children, currently "More than 30% of children and adolescents meet criteria for an anxiety disorder before the age of 18 (Kessler et al., 2012; Merikangas et al., 2010)" (Green et al., 2017). I also wonder if kids feel less anxious at home (because they are more comfortable) and that because of this, parents might not see the more anxious side of them. This could make it challenging for a parent to recognize a symptom of anxiety in their child.